


Man With A Plan

by Bumble_Beckie



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bisexual Disaster Sokka (Avatar), Characters Playing Animal Crossing Game(s), Fluff, M/M, Pasta is assaulted, Quarantine, Sokka is a streamer, Wholesome, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, Zuko works in a supermarket, lockdown - Freeform, meeting online, picnic dates, self indulgent, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:47:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25411870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bumble_Beckie/pseuds/Bumble_Beckie
Summary: Sokka was bored. He was so unfathomably bored. He was so bored that he could eat a horse. Ew. No. He was so bored that he could run a mile. Maybe. But that was a lot of effort. He was so bored that he could finish his essay. Okay. He wasn't that bored.Then he had an idea. A plan.orSokka decides to start streaming in quarintine. Who will he meet?
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), mentioned Aang/Katara (Avatar)
Comments: 24
Kudos: 345





	Man With A Plan

**Author's Note:**

> Hey again meeples,
> 
> It's gay. It's wholesome. I'm tired.  
> Let the boys be happy.  
> I apologise for my incoherence but i hope you enjoy.  
> Thenk
> 
> Bee ^_^

Sokka was bored. He was so unfathomably bored. He was so bored that he could eat a horse. Ew. No. He was so bored that he could run a mile. Maybe. But that was a lot of effort. He was so bored that he could finish his essay. Okay. He wasn't _that_ bored.  
  
Sokka was fed up. He was fed up with not seeing his friends. He was fed up with limited time outside. He was fed up with food. Of food?! Sokka never got fed up with food but it suddenly became a lot less interesting when he had no one to share it with. He's fed up with quarantine.  
  
He understood it. Of course, he did. He wanted everyone to be safe and he wouldn't dare risk that by ignoring the restrictions. But he was lonely. And bored. And fed up.  
  
It didn't help that his 'flatmate' was quarantined with her boyfriend meaning that Sokka didn't even have his sister to annoy.  
  
He tried to fill his time with things that he loved like video games and food and working out and anything he could think of. But there's only so much Animal Crossing he can play before it's classed as an addiction. He really, truly thought about completing his essay but it's not due for a month and, without the pressure of a deadline in less than 24 hours, he lacked any motivation to finish it.  
  
Sokka was bored and, if he spent far too much time laying on his sofa considering the meaning of life and having his routine existential crisis', well, that was his business. But indulging in his brain's many unanswerable questions could only waste so much time.  
  
By the time Sokka was contemplating the inevitability of death for the third time that morning, he decided that maybe he'd been spending too much time with himself. Maybe it was about time to do something sociable - without leaving his flat, of course.  
  
He sent a feeble message to his friends, explaining how he must talk to them or he's sure to be consumed by the abyss of boredom that is already pulling on his feet, and waited for a reply. But his cry for help was mainly ignored and even though they'd agreed to call later that week, Sokka wanted to see them now. Right now. Spirits, he could act like a toddler sometimes. And this was one of those times. He was on the brink of having a temper tantrum at this point and needed something, anything, to help satiate his need of physical contact that had been stripped for the past month.  
  
Then he had an idea. A plan.  
  
Sokka picked up his switch, took it over to his desk and plugged it in by his computer. With a bit of rearranging, shuffling, and untangling of the thousands of wires that swarmed behind his desk, his set up was complete. He sat down at his desk, switched on his computer and got ready to attempt, for the very first time, streaming.  
  
Sokka was not new to the world of streaming, he had just always taken the role of the watcher. He would have streams on in the background as he worked or would watch them to get inspiration for new tactics in whatever game was filling his spare time in that period. But he had never been the streamer before. That was new. He found his old webcam and some bits of tech he'd gathered from his time doing electronics and was good to go.  
  
He sent a message to their group chat, which had been recently renamed to _'I'm bored and you all suck_ ', informing them of his adventures into streaming and hoping that, if no one else, they would try to watch.  
  
He ran his fingers through his hair, tightening his wolf tail and put on his headphones thinking, what's the worst that could happen.  
  
Before he even allowed himself to answer that question, _ManWithAPlan_ was live. He began to speak into the camera as his island loaded on Animal Crossing and found it the most unusual experience. Talking to a camera like it was a person was odd, to say the least, but he persevered anyway.  
  
"Goood morning, or afternoon? What's the time? I've already forgotten. Hey!" Good start, he thought as he chuckled to himself but smiled when he saw a user in chat and kept going.  
  
"So, I'm going to be playing around on Animal Crossing today. I'll give you a little tour of my unbeatably fabulous island and yeah, see what happens. Hi Toph!" He exclaimed when he saw _icanseebetterthanyou_ in chat, thankful that he wasn't entirely alone.  
  
"I'm trying not to break anything today, thanks Toph." He said, replying to her comment about smashing something, "Although maybe I'll break some rocks in game."  
  
He continued chatting to her whilst he wondered around his island, idly catching fish. He wasn't expecting many people to join, and it was ultimately just a conversation between him and Toph, and briefly Aang when he popped in for a minute, but he found that he didn't mind. He got to complain about uni and joke about the game and Sokka's moodiness from earlier had dissipated as the small interaction with his friends was enough to fuel his need for socialization. At least for now.  
  
\---  
  
**_ManWithAPlan_ has gone live.  
**  
\---  
  
Sokka had found streaming a great way to procrastinate from uni work. The benefit of this form of procrastination being that he wasn't falling into philosophical debates with himself at any given moment and it was just making Sokka feel good.  
  
He could talk to his friends when they were watching, play video games and even meet new people once in a while. Streaming had become a regular occurrence in his life, and he was not disappointed by it. He started playing other games on stream and even had Aang and Suki join him one time.  
  
Sokka was live, playing some Legend of Zelda, whilst mindlessly chatting about the experience he'd had in the supermarket the other day with the overly grumpy cashier. He couldn't blame the cashier to be fair, not only was he working in customer service but he had to do it whilst people were risking his health by ignoring the requests to wear masks inside and he can’t imagine how much it sucked,  
  
"But that doesn't mean you can just throw my pasta. And it wasn't that he dropped my pasta, no, he chucked it to the floor like it has personally attacked him or something. Like, dude, show the pasta some respect. I don't know what I'd do without pasta. Ha, you're so right Aang but I would still argue that pasta is better than pastry. Right, but you're biased to fruit pie! That's like asking me if I like sea prunes, which is a yes by the way, if you don't know me." Sokka was so invested in the topic of sea prunes - and was mildly distracted by the bokoblin that was attacking him in game - that he didn't even notice the new follow until Toph told him to _'read your notifications snoozles'_.  
  
"And thank you to, hold on, what," Sokka has to pause his game to read the name as it was too long to scan, "thank you for following _pyromaniacsayswhat_! Ha, good name." Sokka chuckled to himself, enjoying seeing a new face around on stream. It was rare to see people he didn't know so it made it exciting when he got a new follow or interaction,  
  
"So, pyromaniac? Do we get a story for the name or you just like fire?" Sokka asks as he returned to his game but kept an eye on chat as he was playing, "I'm not a fan of fire, I mean not that you can be a fan, unless you're a pyromaniac I guess? But, okay, story time." Sokka enjoyed telling stories, even though most of his audience would have heard him tell them before, but it was nice to talk. And, he had a new person in chat that day, so he technically wasn't just repeating old stories. That was his excuse at least.  
  
"Aang, is Katara watching? She'll remember this. So basically, when we used to go on camping holidays, we would always have this small camp fire set up outside our tent and we had it going one night so we could make S’mores," Sokka briefly glanced over to the chat to see that pyromaniac had asked what a S’more was and Sokka had to pause his story immediately in shock, "you're kidding, right?" He asked and continued playing as he waited for the chat to catch up. Apparently, this pyromaniac kid was not kidding, and he suddenly found this surge of excitement to explain the concept of S’mores.  
  
"Dude, you're missing out. You toast your marshmallow over the fire, enough to crisp the outside and then when it's done - or burnt if you leave it too long - you squidge it between two biscuits (preferably chocolate) and you have this sweet marshmallow sandwich. It's like the best dessert for a pyromaniac, I don't understand how you haven't heard of it." Sokka got lost on explaining S’mores to this guy - and was very happy when they said they would try it - that he'd lost track of the previous topic until Aang nudged him as a reminder,  
  
"Oh, right. So basically, long story short, small eight-year-old Sokka tripped and dropped his favourite teddy - Mr. Fluffy - into the fire. Rest in Peace. F in chat and all that." Sokka looked over to the chat, pleased to see the guy still interacting with the stream. The viewer had made a comment questioning the stuffed toys name and Sokka started defending his bear, "Yes, Mr. Fluffy, what? It's a great name! How dare you disrespect Mr. Fluffy. Excuse me?! No, he did not deserve to be taken by the fire. Wow. Now I see why you're a pyromaniac." Sokka mocked offense but found himself overjoyed and amused by the conversation, unable to stop grinning even after the stream had ended. Definitely better than moping around by himself all day.  
  
\---  
  
Sokka had to stock up on groceries again and hoped that, this time, no one would get angry at his pasta for no apparent reason. He had made his way around the store, stacking items in his hands as he went - he had forgotten to pick up a basket again - and, unintentionally, collecting a rather odd selection of items. His armful consisted of a variety of items ranging from crisps, to mushrooms to cleaning bleach. He was almost tempted to stop by the cosmetics aisle and pick up some hair bleach as well but decided that he hadn't quite reached that stage of quarantine yet.  
  
He eventually made his way to the first free till that he came to and dumped his items onto the conveyor belt, not even paying attention to anyone around him as he was focused on getting in and out as quickly as possible. When he finally looked up at the cashier, his eyes met with mildly familiar ones. They were warm and brown and possibly the most beautiful eyes he had seen. Why were they familiar? Hold on. The pasta guy?! Sokka took a moment to gather himself at the coincidence, fully forgetting the probability of this guy working here regularly. Sokka is surprised to see the cashier's eyes widen in surprise at seeing his face. Did he recognise Sokka as well? He pulled his gaze away and started packing his things into his bag as they were quickly and carefully - unlike last time - scanned.  
  
"That's £17.65 all together." The cashier said, his voice raspy but oddly smooth and Sokka thought that his voice was as attractive, if not more so, than his eyes. And what the hell Sokka? This guy totally assaulted his pasta last time, not the time to be ogling. Sokka scanned his card and began to pick up his bags when the cashier spoke again,  
  
"Uh, sorry, by the way." Sokka was confused for a moment, before realising the cashier must be talking about the pasta, "I think I kind of threw your stuff before." Sokka scoffed slightly at this,  
  
"You think?" Sokka said before he could stop himself, sounding a little more bitter than he intended. The cashier looked down and Sokka thought he noticed a hint of red blooming over the cashier's mask. He felt bad for embarrassing him. Not the time to be holding grudges over pasta, he reminds himself. He is not a toddler. He is an adult. Doing his shopping.  
  
"Uh, yeah, sorry. Was having a bad day. Bad customers. Just got too much. Uh," the cashier continued and Sokka nodded slowly, surprised by the sincere apology.  
  
"No problem." He replied and smiled at him before remembering his mask. Oh well. His eyes were smiling at least. He picked up his bags and headed back to his flat, only just saving himself from tripping multiple times, as his mind was otherwise occupied by the awkward, angry, cute pasta murderer.  
  
\---  
  
**_ManWithAPlan_ has gone live.**  
  
\---  
  
"Guys, my dudes, you won't believe who I bumped into again?" He had started his stream and was chatting away as he normally does and found his thoughts returning to the cashier. Again. "The pasta guy! The one who threw my pasta!"  
  
He waited a moment to see who was active in chat and was glad to see a few of his friends watching. Despite his complaining about them, they really were supporting him, and he was thankful for that,  
  
"Alright Toph, you may mock me but, that pasta had a good life ahead of it. In my stomach." Sokka paused to pull a face at the webcam, directing it to Toph, and then continued his rambling, "Anyway, turns out he was just having a shit day, which is fair. I mean, I feel bad for the pasta, but customer service is not a good time and he was kind of adorable so, I'll forgive him. Shut up Toph. You too Suki, I do not have a crush. Oh spirits. I shouldn't have said anything." He laughed as the chat was spammed by Toph and Suki's incessant teasing, forcefully ignoring the blush that was rising to his cheeks as he thought of the cashier.  
  
He opened his game and continued from where he left of last time, vaguely following chat as he nattered away. At some point amidst the spam of the two girls, the new follower had appeared again and was asking about what they were talking about. Toph quickly replying by insisting that Sokka had a crush on a cashier, which may or may not be true, but he still attempted to defend himself,  
  
"I do not! I just said he was adorable!" He argued but immediately regretted it when Suki used it as evidence against him. He was about to change the topic when Suki told him to ask for the cashier's number, "isn't that a bit weird? Like, haha you assaulted my pasta once and now I want to go on a date with you? Yeah, no thanks. I think I'll pass."  
  
Sokka realised he was digging himself a hole. Toph exclaimed that he admitted he wanted to go on a date, and he was sure his friends would never give up on this,  
  
"I was talking hypothetically! Shut up. If I say I'll ask for is number if I see him again will you stop bugging me about it?" He asked feebly, hoping that the chances of getting the same cashier thrice were small enough that it would never actually happen. Happy with his answer, the girls calmed down in chat.  
  
"So, pyromaniac? Did you try a S’more? You better have." Sokka asked, making sure to steer clear of the previous topic, and when they replied saying that they had no fire to toast marshmallows on, Sokka just laughed, "sorry, you're right. I mean, you're supposedly a pyromaniac so I would say burn something. But also. Don't."  
  
Sokka was glad to have seen his new follower back and was even happier to see them interacting with his friends in chat. He continued playing and chatting with them for a few hours until he had worn himself out and was ready to switch off for the day. He went to make dinner that night, oddly craving S’mores, but tried not to think anything of it.  
  
\---  
  
The likelihood of getting the same cashier three visits in a row was slim to none. That thought alone should be enough to calm Sokka as he returned to the supermarket to get his weekly shop. So why was he disheartened when thinking it was unlikely that he would see the cute cashier again. _Because you like him you buffoon._ His head provided, sounding oddly like Toph, but he dismissed it as he pushed his trolley around. He could hardly like someone he's barely spoken too. He shouldn't try and create some fantasy about some random guy. Enough was enough.  
  
But apparently it wasn't. Apparently Sokka's body had a different idea. Because when he saw the same black haired, tawny eyed cashier from last time, he actively went to that till. He cursed himself as he started unloading his things onto the conveyor but didn't regret it when he saw the warm glow of the cashier's eyes. Was he happy to see Sokka? He didn't look as grumpy as last time at least. Sokka was certainly happy to see him, as much as he tried to dismiss that.  
  
"Hi." The cashier said along with an awkward wave. It was so stiff but Sokka still found his heart squeezing at the action. Get a grip Sokka, he thought, reminding himself that he barely knows the guy.  
  
"Hey. Having a good day?" Sokka said, trying to spur a conversation between them because as much as he tried to fight it, he was clearly crushing on this guy. He had decided to stop his feeble attempts of hiding it. The cashier started scanning his items through the till as he replied,  
  
"It's better now." The guys eyes flickered up to meet Sokka's as he said that and Sokka was suddenly thankful for the mask which helped hide the blush he could feel crawling up his cheeks. Was he flirting? Was the cashier flirting with him? Or is Sokka getting a fever? Is he hallucinating?  
  
Sokka had been panicking for long enough that his items had all been scanned by the time he had recovered. He quickly finished packing his things.  
  
"That's £25.40."  
  
"Right." Sokka fumbled to get his card out of his wallet and managed to drop it. He heard the cashier chuckle at this and quickly tried to organise himself. He picked up his card, scanned it and got up his bag. He was about to leave, embarrassed enough already, when he was stopped by the cashier's voice,  
  
"Uh, your receipt sir?" He asked and Sokka blinked for a moment. He was sure he hadn't asked for a receipt and stores were giving them out less frequently to avoid too much contact, but he couldn't find it in himself to worry at this point. He mumbled a thanks as he took the receipt which he then proceeded to drop. Sokka quickly picked it up, shoved it in his back pocket and all but ran out the door, narrowly avoiding tripping over a box. Oh, Tui and La. Could this get any worse.  
  
\---  
  
**_ManWithAPlan_ has gone live.**  
  
\---  
  
"So, I may or may not have ran into the cashier again. I may or may not have made a total fool of myself. I definitely have a crush. I did not get his number." Sokka blurted out midway through one of his streams. He had been chatting away as normal when one of the girls had asked whether he had seen this guy again and he was immediately overwhelmed with a sense of embarrassment. Sokka glanced over to the chat to see Toph mocking him and Aang asking what happened and who this cashier was.  
  
"So, last week I met the guy who attacked my pasta again and may or may not have called him adorable and Toph and Suki basically threatened me into asking him for his number." He paused and realised that he hadn't even considered getting his number as he was overwhelmed with panic, "Which I failed at. Look, shut up Toph, it wasn't my fault! He flirted with me? I think?" He felt himself getting flustered again whilst he was talking about it. He had ended up pausing his game, unable to stay focused when he saw Pyromaniac join the chat and ask him what was going on,  
  
"Right. Basically. I asked him how his day was, he then looked at me and said that, and I quote, _'It's better now.'_ I couldn't tell if he was flirting or what and I kind of malfunctioned. I dropped my card and then my receipt, which I didn't even ask for and I almost tripped. It was a disaster." Toph was calling him an idiot in chat and he couldn't blame her, "Yes, Toph, you were right all along and I'm sorry. But I made an utter fool of myself. So that's the end of that. No more cute cashier for me. Oh, hi Suki, thanks for joining. We're paused right now whilst I'm being a bisexual disaster. Enjoy." Sokka was almost at the point of a tantrum, but not at his friends, or at pasta, just at himself. He continued reading the chat as they mocked and consoled him. Then he saw a comment from Pyromaniac which confused him,  
  
"What do you mean, did I check the receipt? No, of course I didn't. I didn't even want a receipt. Alright pyromaniac, whatever, I'll check the receipt." Sokka was confused by his interest in a useless scrap of paper and he didn't see any relevance to the receipt but gave in to the pestering. He quickly told the chat that he would be back in a second. He got up and shuffled around his room looking for the trousers that he wore yesterday. His room was not the cleanest, but there was an order to it, sort of. An organised mess? He found the jeans slung over the back of his chair and took the scrunched-up receipt before returning to his seat.  
  
"Hello, I have the receipt." Sokka uncrumpled the receipt and looked at it. It looked like a normal receipt to Sokka. It had a list of items and prices like any receipt would. But then he turned it over and saw blue pen scribbled across the back. Sokka's eyes lit up as he saw a number scrawled across the back.  
  
"Toph! I lied! I totally got his number. Spirits above." Sokka guffawed a laugh at the absurdity of it but couldn't help the grin that spread across his face, "Pyromaniac, you are a genius! How did you know? Ha! You are the best; you might even say that you are on fire!" He smiled to himself at his awful pun but was so excited that he'd missed some of the writing. Written underneath the numbers was a short message that wrote,  
  
"I like fire," Sokka mumbled to himself, thoroughly confused, "Guys, do you think this is some kind of joke? He wrote 'I like fire'? What does that even mean?" He didn't understand, was this some hidden message? Was the guy mocking him? What the hell? Sokka read the chat to see Toph shouting at him, calling him an idiot, "I know I'm an idiot but that doesn't help me right now Toph." He was getting frustrated now because he felt like he was missing something, why couldn't he see it?  
  
Toph continued to berate him in chat and Suki was just sending shocked emotes which were not helping the situation. He read the comment from Pyromaniac and frowned, "I know you like fire, you're a pyromaniac, of course you like fire." It only took Toph shouting at him for the thousandth time before it finally hit Sokka, "Oh. Oh. You like fire. Really? Seriously? You've got to be kidding me. I've been gushing about you all week on here. Oh, Tui and La, that's embarrassing. I can't believe this. Are you. I -" Sokka was shaken, surprised, shocked, happy? He was a whole lot confused and was honestly just in awe of the coincidence. Pyromaniac seemed to disappear from the stream after he had commented about finding Sokka's gushing flattering and he was lost for words.

Was he serious? Cute cashier was also his new follower? Weird.  
  
"Okay. Um hi. If you're still here. Uh. You're cute. Oh, spirits. Right. Let's keep playing." Sokka finally un-paused the game after that unexpected but not unwanted detour and continued to play, somewhat in a daze.  
  
\---  
  
Sokka was lying in bed, later that evening, when he found the courage to text 'Pyromaniac'. That was also when he realised that he can't keep calling him pyromaniac for the rest of his life. He should probably get his name.  
  
**Sokka:** Hey. It's Sokka!  
  
**Pyro:** hello, nice to hear from you  
  
**Sokka:** ye, um, sorry about earlier  
  
**Pyro:** sorry?  
  
**Sokka:** haha, I can be quite oblivious sometimes, that's what Katara always says at least  
  
**Pyro:** don't worry, it was cute  
  
**Sokka:** hngg okay, cute like you?  
  
**Pyro:** I'm not cute, not in comparison  
  
**Sokka:** yea you are, youre pretty hot too, your fire ;)  
  
**Pyro:** that was so bad  
  
**Sokka:** only the best for you  
  
**Sokka:** so, I kind of realised that I don't actually know your name?  
  
**Pyro:** what have you been calling me?  
  
**Sokka:** uh... pyro? Like pyromaniac  
  
**Pyro:** Haha fair, uh  
  
**Pyro:** Zuko. I'm Zuko.  
  
**Sokka:** god you're going to kill me  
  
**Zuko** **🔥** **:** what?  
  
**Sokka:** I really like your name. It's pretty.  
  
**Zuko** **🔥** **:** no fire pun?  
  
**Sokka:** hA, sorry, I'll have to get some new ones, just for you  
  
**Zuko** **🔥** **:** I'd like that.  
  
\---  
  
**_ManWithAPlan_ has gone live.**  
  
\---  
  
"Good morning, afternoon, evening? I don't know. Whatever time of day it is. How is everyone one today?" Sokka asked to the chat, seeing who was watching the stream, "hey Toph, my biggest fan! Hey Suki. Hey babe!" Sokka's face brightened when he saw Zuko's username in chat. After getting his number, Sokka and Zuko had been speaking every day, every night, any time they had. Sokka was briefly worried that he would get to know Zuko and realise that it wasn't going to work. He had met Zuko for less than an hour total in person. But that worry was quickly dismantled when Sokka found himself messaging the boy anytime he could. He was addicted. Sokka was playing Animal Crossing on stream and attempting to catch some of the new creatures that appeared in August, chilling and chatting like he always does when he has an idea. He can't see Zuko in person for the foreseeable future, but they had talked multiple times about Animal Crossing, so, he knew that Zuko had the game.  
  
"Baby, have you got you're switch on you right now?" He asked, getting some backlash from Toph about his pet names, "You do? Do you want to join me on discord and come visit or vice versa?" Sokka was getting excited, he really hoped Zuko agreed, he wanted to talk to Zuko. Wait, they had been messaging all the time but Sokka hadn't spoken to him since the whole receipt incident. How has that happened? How could he let that happen? He doesn't see a message from Zuko and feels disheartened for a moment until he sees a message from _thepyromaniac_ on discord and he beamed.  
  
"Shut up Toph, let me enjoy this." He started a call with him and waited for a moment before hearing his voice.  
  
"Uh hi," he heard the soft, awkward rasp of his boyfriend? Are they boyfriends? They haven't really spoken in person. They haven't even discussed this. Not the time Sokka, get back on track.  
  
"Hey! Zuko! Light of my life! My very own pyromaniac!" Sokka exaggerated his entry for the stream but he was overjoyed to hear his gorgeous voice once again.  
  
"Sokka, stop." Zuko replied blankly but Sokka heard the huff of a laugh and smiled.  
  
"Never."  
  
"I will burn your teddies." Zuko threatened half-heartedly.  
  
"Not on my watch! I will avenge Mr Fluffy!" Sokka exclaimed.  
  
"Alright Sokka," Hearing his name from Zuko sent a shiver down his spine and he had to restrain himself from moaning there and then. Spirits, he was happy to hear him, "Whatever you say. Now open the gates and let me in, asshole."  
  
\---  
  
**Sokka:** Babe, are you working today?  
  
**Zuko** **🔥** **:** yeah, this afternoon  
  
**Zuko** **🔥** **:** wait, why?  
  
**Zuko** **🔥** **:** Sokka what are you planning?  
  
**Zuko** **🔥** **:** Sokka?  
  
**Sokka:** nothing, just wondering  
  
**Zuko** **🔥** **:** i don't believe you  
  
**Sokka:** tough  
  
Sokka did have a plan. He had a very good plan, but he wasn't going to tell Zuko that. Sokka had a great plan. An amazing plan. Sokka was so excited to see Zuko in person.  
  
He was head over heels for this boy, even after only a few weeks. Not being able to hold him or touch him was killing him. Every night they spoke, whether it was messaging or calling, they always spoke. They had fallen asleep on the phone multiple times from talking deep into the night. Every snippet of information he learnt about Zuko, made him fall that little bit more: from his obsession with turtle ducks and inability to cook, to his temperamental relationship with his sister and the turmoil with his father. They talked and talked but Sokka still didn't know what they were. He knows what he wants them to be but he still had these nerves bubbling in his stomach.  
  
Sokka arrived at the supermarket that afternoon and picked up a bouquet of flowers, filled with yellows and oranges and gentle reds and pinks. The warm tones that enveloped the flowers reminded Sokka of his warm eyes and bright scar that Sokka had only seen hints of from under his mask. He looked along the tills, searching for a certain grumpy cashier when he spotted Zuko at the far end of the store. He marched his way over and placed the flowers on the conveyor, not before placing a receipt on top.  
  
When Zuko looked up to see Sokka on the other side of his till, his eyes widened, bright and surprised, shining into Sokka. Then they squinted in suspicion at why he was here. Sokka laughed at the cashier.  
  
"Don't look at me like that!" Sokka prodded.  
  
When Zuko looked over at the flowers and scanned them through, idly picking up the receipt that was sitting on top as if he was cleaning them up for the customer who was buying them.  
  
"That's £8." Sokka, card ready this time, scanned his card and nodded at Zuko.  
  
"Did you check the receipt?" Sokka asked, seeing the small paper still crumpled in his hand.  
  
"What?" Zuko looked confused for a moment before his eyes widened in realisation. He quickly unscrambled the receipt. It was the one from the first time Sokka had met Zuko, he had searched his wallet thoroughly to find it, surprised that he still had it and that he had gotten a receipt in the first place. He turned it over to see Sokka's messy handwriting on the back. Zuko's eyes scanned over it quickly.  
  
_Will you be my boyfriend?  
  
_Zuko looked up to meet Sokka's, a light dusting of red coating his cheeks and nodded enthusiastically, tears brimming in the corner of his eyes.  
  
"Of course." Sokka let out a sigh of relief and made a heart shape with his hands to Zuko. He couldn't hold him or kiss him, but he sure as hell could show him love.  
  
\---  
  
Their first date was still in quarantine which meant Sokka had to improvise. He had thought long and hard about how to organise it but decided in the end that the safest date would be a picnic. Sokka had spent all morning choosing and packing foods and snacks and drinks for the two of them into his bag. He was going to make this perfect.  
  
The park they had chosen resided somewhere between where they both lived and was one of Sokka's favourites. Kyoshi park was huge. It was so beautiful that he thought it could be a nature reserve. The grass grew wild and tall and the lake that it centred around reflected the sun, making it glisten in the midday light.  
  
When Sokka saw Zuko, he was overwhelmed. It was the first time that he had seen Zuko's face sans mask and it blew him away. Despite only being able to admire from a two-meter separation, Zuko's smile was soft and gentle and teasing and more. It was everything he could and couldn't have imagined. Tui and La, bless him.

They walked around the lake, listening to the trees rustling in the wind and the birds chirping from their branches. Watching the blues of the lake swirl and morph like a painting. The park was beautiful, to say the least, but Zuko, Sokka thought, was by far the most beautiful thing there.  
  
Sokka flung out the blanket that he had brought with him, plaid with monochrome colours, and spread it on the grass, placing the collection of foods in the middle and sitting on the furthest edge as not to break the restrictions.  
  


When they sat and talked about the park, family, Zuko's work and Sokka's streams, Sokka took the opportunity to take in every inch of Zuko.  
  
He admired the way the beams of the sun reflected in his vibrant eyes, making them almost seem golden; the way the wind brushed his soft, dark hair away from his face to show the scar that marked his eye; the way Zuko's smile grew and grew like it was a bud of a flower just beginning to bloom.  
  
Sokka had fallen. Hard and fast and he didn't mind at all. Not one bit.  
  
By the time they had to part ways, Sokka was heartbroken to leave Zuko but he also found himself excited. He was excited because he knew how good this was right now and he could only imagine how much more was to come. Zuko. His boyfriend. His pyromaniac.  
  
\---  
  
**_ManWithAPlan_ has gone live.  
**  
\---  
  
Sokka continued to stream regularly as the quarantine continued. He found it fulfilling and his small audience gradually grew the more he played. His friends were there to support him, and his partner was there too. Despite it taking up more of his time, his positive mindset inspired him to complete other tasks, like that god forsaken essay that he had put off for so long. Sokka was streaming Legend of Zelda again, finding comfort in the calming background music and gorgeous landscapes, and chatting away to his audience.  
  
"And then he stole my boomerang and I was not happy. Yeah, Toph, but you're attached to things too! Like remember that piece of meteorite you had! It was basically your pet rock. What do you mean it's not the same? Okay, fine. Oh, good news everyone! I finished my essay! I know, I know, I'm amazing. No need to remind me." Sokka smirked and read along with the chat enjoying the interaction he was receiving from everyone. His eyes lit up as he saw a message from Zuko, pyromaniac, in chat, "what babe? Check the news? Sure. Okay. If you say so."  
  
Sokka paused his game and placed his controller on his desk for a moment and pulled out his phone to bring up the news. And that's when he saw it. The restrictions had been eased. He continued reading as his heart beat heavily in his chest. If the restrictions are eased then maybe just maybe, he could see Zuko. Properly.  
  
He scanned through the article, checking exactly how they have eased to see the new rule: Two households could create a bubble. Two households. He could see Zuko. Zuko can be his second household.  
  
"Oh, my spirits, guys, the restrictions have been eased. This is so exciting. Don't go overboard lads, still wear your masks, wash your hands but you can create a bubble. Zuko, baby. Get the fuck over here. Right now. Please, thank you." Sokka joked and picked up his controller to keep playing, trying to ignore the heavy thump of his chest as the adrenaline of seeing his boyfriend caused his body to buzz with excitement. He couldn't wait.  
  
Sokka finished up his stream an hour or so later and checked his phone to see it bombarded with texts.  
  
**Zuko** **🔥** **:** sokka  
  
**Zuko** **🔥** **:** soookkaaa  
  
**Zuko** **🔥** **:** baby  
  
**Zuko** **🔥** **:** read the news  
  
**Zuko** **🔥** **:** shit you're streaming sorry  
  
**Zuko** **🔥** **:** call me after  
  
**Zuko** **🔥** **:** fuck man, I can't wait  
  
**Zuko** **🔥** **:** I'm coming over  
  
**Zuko** **🔥** **:** I hope that's okay  
  
**Zuko** **🔥** **:** sorry love, I got excited  
  
Sokka beamed at the messages, his smile widening with everyone.  
  
And then the doorbell rang. Sokka sprung to his feet and literally sprinted to his front door, jumping over the haphazardly placed books and clothes scattered on the apartment floor.  
  
He took a deep breath and swung open the front door to his flat, squealing at the sight of Zuko. They stood for a moment, staring at each other in silence, the only sound being the weighted breathing of the two.  
  
"Uh. Hi." Zuko smiled hesitantly and gave that stupid, adorable, awkward wave that Sokka adored. He felt like his breath had been pulled out of his chest, unable to speak, just in awe of his boyfriend, standing ~~there~~ here. Standing here. He shook his head slightly in disbelief before stepping forward and pulling Zuko into an embrace, his arms tight around his waist. He so excited that he even lifted Zuko off the floor for a moment.  
  
"Sokka, ow." Zuko breathed out and Sokka dropped him immediately, Zuko's feet hitting the floor, and smiled sheepishly. Zuko laughed lightly before swinging his arms around Sokka's neck and pressing a light kiss to his cheek. Once Sokka had calmed from the immediate thrill of seeing him in person, he took a moment to feel Zuko. To really notice Zuko.  
  
He noticed that Zuko was ever so slightly taller than him.  
  
He noticed that he smelt like smoke and cinnamon.  
  
He noticed that his hair fell just above his shoulder, almost long enough to tie up.  
  
He felt Zuko's lean arms holding him tight.  
  
He felt his warm hands circling patterns on the back of his neck.  
  
He felt the love pouring into his embrace.  
  
He felt Zuko.  
  
He gently pulled away and took his hand, dragging him into the apartment. He felt the weight of Zuko's hand in his and how it fit perfectly, interlocking with his own.  
  
He sat down on his sofa and tugged Zuko down on top of him, pulling him back into his embrace. With Zuko's face so close to his, Sokka didn't even try to resist the urge to pepper him with gentle kisses. From his cheek, to his forehead, to his nose, to his scar, to his eyelid, to his nose again and finally placing a quick gentle kiss on his lips.  
  
"Hello." Sokka finally greeted, smiling crookedly at Zuko. Their faces were so close that his nose was brushing Zuko's and he could feel his breath softly against his lips.  
  
"Clingy much?" Zuko smirked but Sokka could see the damp sheen on his soft brown eyes. Sokka felt himself well up slightly and his breathing becoming shaky. Zuko moved his head to gently rest against Sokka's shoulder.  
  
"Shut up." Sokka jabbed him lightly in his side and let out a long steadying breath. He tightened his grip around Zuko and felt the gentle pulse of his heart reverberate through Sokka's chest.  
  
Sokka briefly thought back to earlier in quarantine and how he was bored and fed up and had this stupid plan to start streaming. Stupid, amazing, wonderful plan.  
  
"It was a good plan." Sokka thought out loud.  
  
"What?" Zuko mumbled into his neck.  
  
" _ManWithAPlan_. 'Twas a good idea." Sokka said, "meant I met you." It was Zuko's turn to jab him lightly in the side,  
  
"I was the one who threw your pasta." Sokka could feel his smirk against his neck, "and gave you my number."  
  
"Yeah, whatever, stop showing off, pyromaniac."  
  
"You stop showing off, asshole."

“Eat a S’more, jerk.”

“Maybe one day, twit.”  
  
Sokka felt Zuko. Sokka felt at home.  
  
\---  
  
**_ManWithAPlan_ has gone live.**  
  
\---

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!! I hope you enjoyed this mess.
> 
> I do the tumblr too, but there's no coherence there either so be warned:  
> Bee-Slytherpuff  
> Bumble-Beckie


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